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It's time for a bit of lighter side humor in trade show booth staffing. On occasion we will go to trade shows and see some of the following personalities. Some of them are easy to recognize because they act just like their animal kingdom counterpart. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of the beastly world of booth staffers. See if you recognize anyone you have observed on the show floor?

Rules, rules, rules. What about the rules that no one tells you about? Rules are necessary to keep trade shows and events running smoothly, and they help businesses and clients manage their expectations. However, as important as it is to know the show hours, the drayage costs, the convention hall requirement particulars, and more, it’s equally important to know the “hidden” rules (that no one tells you about) that inevitably accompany every show.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just pick which trade shows we wanted to exhibit at, make the decision final, and keep it that way forever and ever amen?! Yes, it would. But no, we can’t. Choosing the trade shows that are a good fit for your business is important, and equally important is the decision to return to a trade show or to ditch it. So much time and effort and energy (and resources!) are dedicated to exhibiting at trade shows that they must be worth the effort. And unfortunately, sometimes they aren’t.

The number one thing an attendee remembers about their interaction with your company at a trade show is based on your staff (according to the Center for Exhibition and Industry Research). Your company’s trade show exhibit may be the focal point for any conference or event you’re attending, but it won’t be the only thing representing your business. You and the rest of the booth staffers will also get plenty of attention. Impacting show attendees is paramount and by understanding the dress code for any event, you can ensure you’ll be putting your best foot forward.

Anyone who has ever been part of the creative process knows firsthand that designing trade show exhibits can prove a challenge in all the best and worst ways. Creatively, business executives love getting the chance to flex their marketing muscles and design trade show exhibits that effectively capture the very essence of their brand. However, achieving that goal can prove a daunting challenge.

Stretching an already tight budget can be a challenge and the trick is to pursue savings that are transparent to the attendees at your exhibit space. Whether you’re planning your company’s initial launch into trade shows or taking over an exhibit schedule previously handled by another trade show manager, the associated costs can be a little intimidating. If your budget is limited, these 10 tips can help you get the most out of your exhibit dollars:

You don’t need to go to Las Vegas to gamble, all you have to do is bring something of high value to a trade show. Everyone is faced with the common problem of theft on the show floor. That being said, I wanted to share some of the tricks of the trade that we have employed over time to take preventative action:

Experiential Marketing At Trade Shows

Some things must be felt, seen, tasted, smelled, attempted, or heard in order to be believed. Through a campaign, we can tell someone what we think or how great our offering is, however there is no replacement for showing someone face to face and allowing them to experience it for themselves.

Experiential marketing allows your skeptical prospects or most dedicated customers to develop an emotional investment in your products or services, literally helping them shape your brand’s evolution. Another by-product of this is shortening the sales cycle because the prospects and clients are becoming more comfortable with who and what they are purchasing.

You will find out shortly that my title is a play on words. The intention isn’t to mislead you about sustainability, but instead to apply the term in another fashion. When you’ve approached the process of designing an exhibit, how much thought do you put into how the style and tone of the space will effect people’s perception of your brand?

Can you recall walking into a cathedral and find that you’ve automatically started to whisper? How about the last time you met with a senior executive for another company; were you able to draw any ideas on how to act from their office? You would automatically adjust your behavior in a five star restaurant differently than you would at the local arcade and pizza place with your kids, right? There is a natural effect that environment has on the way most of us behave (the “most of us” part is because I have some of “those” relatives too).

Do a web search on hiring models for your trade show and you’ll find not just a few articles that decry the practice. There are a lot of reasons to be cautious in the use of models. For one thing, having a gaggle of hot models in your exhibit can actually intimidate some people. That high energy and frankly “intense” atmosphere that is often associated with the proverbial “booth babe” environment is tough for the more reserved people, and can even cause anxiety just by being in the area.

We are excited to announce that our clients, Dominion Dealer Solutions, was selected Best of Show for the National Auto Dealer Association Conference (#NADA2018) held this past weekend in Las Vegas. Congratulations to team #Dominion!

Almost without fail, the last thing anyone … even experienced exhibit designers … think about is what your exhibit smells like. Even now, after reading that last line you’re wondering where can I possibly be going with this?

For a moment, stop. Close your eyes and put yourself in a place you can recall by smell. I can easily recall the smell of baking bread with my grandmother, my grandfather’s pipe tobacco, apple orchards and burning pine needles in the fall at our family cottage. It’s amazing how well you can mentally recreate the smell without really having it available. Equally amazing is how a smell you encounter can trigger a memory. My mom used to decorate cakes for fun, and when we were kids she would make all kinds of fun cakes for birthdays and holidays. I can’t smell buttercream frosting anymore without seeing my favorite sailboat cake … chocolate buttercream frosting, coconut on the sail and peppermint ring candies for portholes (seriously, it’s pretty stellar) … and I haven’t had one in nearly 35 years (mental note: put in order with mom). Why does it work that way, and how does it relate to exhibiting?

Most of us who go to shows go there with the intent of generating leads (at least partially). According to the Center For Exhibition and Industry Research, the #1 reason that exhibitors attend shows is to generate leads. As marketers, we desire to fill our sales pipeline, shorten the sales cycle, drive repeat customers and find new opportunities.

In order to get the creative juices flowing, we have assembled some of the best ideas we have seen demonstrated from our clients and from success stories we have generated. Following are 50 ideas to get you more leads at your upcoming trade shows (broken down to 3 categories):

You’ve invested the time, energy, and budget to generate valuable leads at trade shows, and while it’s easier said than done, it’s imperative to follow through with your connections in a timely manner. Undoubtedly, there can be some hurdles to cross in order to get the qualified leads into your account executive’s hands:

A shorthand formula to help with exhibit design goes like this: "Exhibit design should compel a particular audience into a specific conversation to achieve a measurable outcome." It doesn't cover every situation, but it does help set a pace for most design scenarios. Let's go phrase by phrase:

Obviously, we advocate exhibit design. Intentional, evocative and relevant design is important to any good face to face marketing endeavor. Commodity exhibits are available, and you can buy nearly anything off the internet. Surely, budgets and limiting factors come into play and can't be ignored. But the reality is if you want successful show marketing strategies, you need intentional design - even in pop-ups and banner stands.

That design is necessary to compel, not just any audience, but a particular audience. Some shows you go to may be made up 100% of the audience your marketing efforts work with, and everyone is a qualified lead. But more often than not, you need to weed out many of the attendees in order to meet the ones who will really do business with you. Those qualified leads are a particular group of people. You have a profile of them already: your current customers. You know what that audience looks like. So how do you compel them? How do you catch the attention of more people just like that, and draw them in? How do you compel that particular group? That's the foot you want to put forward on the show floor.

Some things are worth putting on the to do list at #NADA2018 so we compiled the "Top 10 Must See, Do, and Dine," at this year's show, according to Yelp and TripAdvisor. When your sales staff needs to figure out where to take a client, we have an answer.

The reasons can vary greatly of why you were selected to write the social media plan for your company, but here you are. Now what… [insert sigh here]. Maybe it’s because you’re in marketing. It may also be because you’re from the younger generation that grew up as a digital native and are assumed to have a close connection in this arena. Or possibly you’re already experimenting with social media and your success has been noticed.

Join us for our upcoming Tradeshow Marketing Showcase & Seminar – “Don't Be Left in the Dark”! We are planning an informative and fun event with lunch, beer & wine, prizes, and invaluable information to equip you and your team with the most innovative tools for tradeshow marketing success.

Join us for our upcoming Tradeshow Marketing Showcase & Seminar – “Don't Be Left in the Dark”! We are planning an informative and fun event with lunch, beer & wine, prizes, and invaluable information to equip you and your team with the most innovative tools for tradeshow marketing success.

Join us for our upcoming trade show marketing showcase & seminar on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 at the INCubator at the Hamilton County Business Development Center in Chattanooga! We are planning an educational and fun event with lunch, refreshments, prizes, and most importantly, valuable information to equip you and your team with the most innovative tools for trade show marketing success.

Nashville, TN – Skyline Exhibitor Source, a company specializing in trade show booth design in Nashville & Knoxville, Tennessee has announced the promotion of Aaron Carlson to Vice President of Operations.

Skyline Exhibitor Source has received a letter of congratulations from Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam commending our winning of the American Business Ethics Award. We are honored to receive this recognition by our state leader!

Skyline Exhibitor Source has been recognized nationally for the company's excellence in business ethics. The Foundation for Financial Service Professionals has awarded the Nashville trade show exhibit design and installation company The American Business Ethics Award (ABEA) in the "small company" category for 2014. Only one other company besides Skyline Exhibitor Source was awarded the honor this year, The Marvin Companies, in the "large company" category.

Ahh… your booth. It is a work of art isn’t it? You’ve worked hard making it look EXACTLY how you want it. Every angle, every detail, the lighting…it’s all perfect for that 10x20 space you exhibit in. Occasionally, you’ll hit the smaller shows in your 10x10 version of your trade show display, but that 10x20 is your sweet spot.